Lifting jack



. 1,597,347 R. D. FILDESv LIFTING JACK Filed Jan: 5, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet2 Arran/vtr Aug. 24 1926..

R. D. FlLDr-:s

LIFTING JACK 5 Shea ts-Shat :5

Filed Jan. s, 1922 Patented Aug. 24, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BOLLIN D. FILDES, OF MEDINA, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE MEDINA MANUFACTURINGCOMPANY, OF MEDINA, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

LIFTING JACK.

Application filed January 3, 1922. Serial No. 526,740.

My invention relates to extension lifting jacks in which the body orpedestal of the jack is made extensible so that the jack isv siblepedestal providing a substantial support for the lifting screw which maybe made smaller and lighteron account of the reinforcement provided bythe extensible pedestal than would be possible in a-tall jack if anextensible pedestal were not used.

Among the objects of my invention are the provision of an improvedlifting jack having an extensible pedestal; the `provision of animproved lifting jack operated by a worm and worm wheel; the provisionof a lifting jack having an extensible pedestal made of unfinishedparts; the provision of an extensible lifting jack the height of thepedestal of which can be readily changed when not supporting a weightbut which cannot be changed when supporting a weight; the provision of alifting jack having an extensible pedestal which is self lowering whenthe jack is not supporting a weight but which is automatically locked inadjusted position and prevented from accidental lowering when supportinga weight; the provision of a lifting jack operable by rotary movement ofa shaft; and the provision of an extensible folding brace adapted to beused for positioning the jack under the object to be lifted from a pointaway from the object and for operating the jack from such a point. Theseand other objects are accomplished by the use of my invention, de

scribed in the following specifications and shown in the accompanyingdrawings in which:'`

Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a lifting jack embodyingmy invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the jack shown in Fig. 1', i

Fig. 3 is a central vertical section on line III-III of Fig. 1; y

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on line IV-IV of Fig. 1; y

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on line V- V of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on line VI--VI of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a Vfragmentary view of an automobile showing the applicationof my lifting jack with the positioning and cranking brace connected toit for raising or lowering the rear axle of the automobile;

Fig. IS shows my improved extensible cranking brace folded to permit itto be conveniently carried in the tool box of an automobile Fig. 9 is afragmentary view of a joint of my positioning and cranking brace showingthe locking sleeve in unlocked position;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary side view of `a joint of my positioning andcranking brace `showing the locking sleeve in locking position;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary side view of the joint shown in Figs.` 9 and 10with the joint unlocked and partly bent; Y

Fig. 12 is a section on line XII-XII of Fig. 10;

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary view of the oper-` ating socket end of mycranking brace; and Fig. 14 is a sectionjon line XIV-XIV of Fig. 13.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is the lower or base portion of thepedestal, which has a foot or flange, 1*", preferably cast or otherwisemade integral with the upstanding portion, 1b, of the pedestal.

The upstanding portion, 1", of the pedestal is preferably madecylindrical, or in the form of a gradually tapered cone the latter beingthe form shown in the drawings. I prefer to make the pedestal base, 1,of cast metal. Ribs, 2, or other suitable means may be provided forstrengthening the foot fiange, 1. The pedestal base is made hollow,` theaperture, 3, which is preferably formed by a core being somewhatcontracted at the upper end `of the pedestal base to provide metal forthe internal screw threads,

7, preferably of cast metal having formed upon it, preferably bycasting,7 a screw thread, 8, which is adapted to fit the internal screwthreads, 1, formed in the upper portion of the. aperture, 3,., of the.pedestal base, 1. At its top,.`9, fthe Lipper portion, 6, of thepedestal is enlarged and has a chamber or chambers adapted to. receivethe operating worm and worm wheel or jack-screw nut which members willbe more fully' de-r scribed. The upper portion, 6, of the pedestal alsohas av longitudinal aperture: extending.E through it to receive: theljack-screw, l0; The) lower part, l1, ofthis' j'aclrfscrew reL cei'vingaperture in th'e:1neinber,6', is prei erably madef considerably largerina` diameter thanI the diameter of screw, 10', while the upper part,12,` of the aperture ismade only large enough in diameter to provide afree sliding fit for the jack-screw, 10: rllhex wall of the contractedportienv, 12", of the aperture' serves as a guide and' support for thejack-screw, 1'0".. Theenla-rged portion, 11, serves as. a greaseVchamber and also reduces the weight of the pedestal. A metal disc, 11a,may be secured` in thelower end f of the shank, 7 to close aperture, 11,for retaining grease or oil therein;

ln the tcp4 or head, 9, of' the upper por'- tion of the pedestal tlieilongitudinal aper- 'tureV is enlarged'into a' chamber, 13,y for thereception of an anti-friction thrust bear'- ing,` such asV thevballbearing shown at' 14:, vand the revoluible jack-screw nut,A 1.5.1.The nut', 175, is threaded upon the jack-screw, 10, and is supported onthe pedestal prefiera'bly by the bearing, 111'. Opening: out of chamber,13, Vis; recess, 16, adapted to re'- ceivethe operating Worin, 17, thethread of which meshes with' worin wheel'y teeth^,.18, upon theperiphery of jack-screw nut, 15, for rotating the latter to cafuse theraising or lowering` ofjzacl-.sc1ew,.10. v

The top erl head, 9,v of the extensible portion', 6, of the pedestalYi's-v preferably pro'- vid'ed withV af projection, 19, which inclosesthe recess, 165, and which forms an. oiltight housing surrounding theworm, 17.

:The worms, 1.7, is preferably of cast metal .an'di'isf mounted upon.the operating shaft, 20, to whichV it isv secured by .any suitable'means such as the pin, 21. A top cover or closure, 22, for thel chamber,13, is prefer# ably provided.v lt may be' secured? to the head-f, 9, byany'suitable means .such as the screws, 23.V The. cover 22,. has a holein it through which the j acltscrew, 10, slides in its verticalmovements. lihev cover, 22,.serves not only to retain lubricant in= theYchamber, 13", butV also reta-ins theY jack-screw, 10, and nut, l5, inthe pedestal after the parts are' assembled.. The chambers, 1,1; and13,. are preferably made large so asV to contain enough lubricant tolas-tV a long time.

A suitable, load-engaging head, 24, may

ribs, 27,. preferably cast thereon.

be formed upon or secured to the jack screw, 10. Suitable means may beprovided for preventing the screw,10, from turning with nut, 15, thismeans being preferably a projection, 25,v on jack-screw, 10.. This maybe any suitable, key-like projection, but l prefer that it be the end ofa pin carried in a transverse apertureV in screw, 10, n-ear its lowerend, and projecting outwardly beyond the side of the screw into a suitable vertical guide-way, 25, formed in the innerv wall: of the hollowshank,- 7, between in: Vthe drawings, pin, 25, is shown. extending clearVthrough the screw,.11O-, forming projections oir either side thereofand enga-ging oppositel-y disposed guide-ways. lt will be noted that theguide-ways er slots, 2.6, entend upward' through the contractedpci-'trom 12, of the aperture in theV shank, and open into the expanded'portion,`l3, of this apertureso-that the j aclescrew, 10, may be.readily inserted into the pedestal member, (i. The guide-way, 26, maybevsaid to entend to the topf of the pedestal 'as the wall of the head, 9',isV above the loadl supporting part of the pedestal and forms aciia'iber for the jack-screw and operating worm'. The screw, 1'0, may beraised until the ends of pin, 25, strike thelower ball` race, 28:, ofthe ball bearing, 14, by-which theupward movement of they jaclr.screw,1G, willl be arrested.. While I prefer to--emplby an; antii frictionthrust-bearing for the nut, 15,' it is obvious that, in the absence ofsuchY a bea-ring, the bottom of the nut may serve as a stop to limitthe-upward. movement of the-screw, 10'.

I prefer to provide a. ball retainer, 28, preferably a sheet metalstamping, compris ing a perforated disc for receiving and separating theballs and internal and external oppositely upset flanges to :prevent thedisc from being displaced far venough to allow the balls to escape.

The adjustment ofthe height of the pedestal is accomplished by screwingvthe shank, 7, of the upper pedestal member, 6, into and out of thepedestal base, 1.V llfhen: adjusted it may, if desired, beheld in theadjusted position 'by means of theset screw, 29, shown in Fig. 3; Iprefer to make the` pitch of the threads, 8, so coarse that the shank,will be self lowering, or nearly so, when the set screw, 29, is loosenedand when theja-ck is free. Such a coarse pitched thread facilitates therapid adjustment: of the height of theV pedestal. l/Vhen, however, thejack is supporting a weightthe head, 24, of screw, 10, is in firmengagement with the load while the foot Hange,`1, of the pedestahl, isin firmv engagement with the ground and the shank, 7, is there-by,lockerand prevented from rotating' in the pedestal base, 1. In other words my,extensible pedin which the sha-ft is mounted.

estal is automatically held or locked in adjusted position when the jackis4 supporting a weight and cannot be accidentally or suddenly lowered.

rlhe worm, 17 is preferably cast, or, made of a drop-forging, ,and hasits axis inclinedV 20, is shown inclined upwardly from the jack andextended back behind the vehicle where it can be readily manipulated.

To hold the worm, 17 against end thrusts when the jack is being operatedto lift a load, I prefer to provide an anti-friction step or thrustbearing such as the hardened steel ball shown at 20, between the end ofthe shaft, 20, and the bottom of hole, 35, The hub of the worm, 17, maybe made slightly shorter than the recess, 16, to prevent frictionalcontact on the hub when lifting a load. When lowering a load` the endthrust of the worm, 17 is so small as to make it unnecessary to providean anti-friction bearing at the other end of the worm.

In the manufacture of my invention `I prefer to make all of the parts,1, 6, 15 and 17, of cast metal, preferably of gray or malleable castiron, as I find `that these parts can be made sufliciently` accurate bycasting to require verylittle machine finislrl ing. In fact, the onlymachine work that l have found necessary upon these parte" as shown inthe accompanying drawings is the drilling and tapping of the hole in thepedestal, 1, to receive the set screw, 29, the facing of the seat, 33,for supporting the lower race, 28, of the ball bearing, 14, the facingof the surface, 34, for receiving the cover plate or closure, 22, thedrilling of the hole, 35, for receiving the operating shaft, 20, and thefacing of the lower end, 36, of nut, 15, where it is supported by theupper bal] race, 37, of the thrust bearing, 14. It is obvious thatinstead of the ball bearing, 14, any other anti-friction bearing such as-anti-friction washers or other form of thrust bearing may be employed.I have found, however, that a ball bearing such as shown in the drawingsoperates satisfactorily in this structure.

For operating the shaft, 20, I prefer to provide a drive pin, key orsimilar projection such as shown at 38, which is adapted to engage witha socket wrench or other operating sleeve which can be slipped over theend of shaft, 20.` It is obvious that the shaft, 20, may be providedwith a square or other flat sided end which would answer the samepurpose. The projection, 38, also serves to detachably secure thecranking brace to the jack so that the latter may be readily positioned.

As the lifting jack, especially when used for raising the axle of anautomobile, has to be set in somewhat inaccessible places, I haveprovided a folding, positioning and cranking brace, 31, the constructionof which will now be described. rIlhe end, 39, of the shank of the braceis provided with a socket, 40, which is adapted to fit over the end ofshaft, 20. The wall of the socket is `providedwith a T slot, 41, likethe slot of a bayonet-joint, the longitudinal portion of which slotpermits the passage of the drive pin, 38, through it into the transverseslot, 42. .The socket, 40, having been slipped over the end of theshaft, 20, the socket may be rotated about the shaft until the pin, 38,engages the end of the transverse slot, 42, when further rotation of thesocket will cause the shaft, 20, and worm, 17, to rotate with it. Vhenthe shaft, 20, and socket, 40, are thus engaged the shaft is securelyheld to the brace shank and the jack may be pushed under the object tobe lifted by means of the extension brace thus making it unnecessary forthe user to get dewyn under the object to be lifted to set the jac r. i

j The folding, positioning and cranking brace which is shown in thedrawing is preferably composed of several joints hinged together bymeans of metal stampings as shown at 43. 'Ihe ends of the rod or shanksections, 30, 31 and 44, are preferably some what enlarged and providedwith transverse pin apertures for receiving the connecting and hingepins such as those shown at 45 and 46 respectively. One end of each ofthe sta1npings,43, is rigidly connected to a shank section by means of apin, 45, and by reason of the engagement of the sleeve like portion, 47,ofthe stamping, 43, wit-h the end of the shank section as shown in Fig.9.

The other end of the stamping, 43, is hinged tothe abutting end of the,adjacent shank section so that it can fold only in one direction, theend, 48, of the stamping, 43, preventing the rotation of the hingedshank section in the opposite direction. In other words, I provide kneejoints between the shank sections. `To prevent the iexing of the kneejoint of the shank when in opera-tion I prefer to provide projections49, upon the ends of the side portion of the stamping, 43, which sideportions are spaced far enough apart to permit the hinged shank sectionto pass between them. I further provide, upon each shank which is thushinged toi a stamping, 43,. a loose. sleeve such. shown at; 50,. thediameter of which is too great to pass; between the projections', 49, sothat when this sleeve is pushed into the position in: which it' is seenin Figs. 7 and lO, the knee joints: of thev shank cannot flex.

lhile I havev shown: an odset crankl in the operating' shank section,31,. it is obvious that any other convenient meansa for rotatlng thecranking brace may be employed.,

F l2: is: a cross y.section through the brace sha-nl and sleeve, 5t),the section being taken online XIII-XII of Fig; l0 showing the manner inwhich. the sleeve, 5.0', en.- gages the projections, 49?, to prevent theHering of the joint..Y

F 14 which is ai sectionA onV line- XIV- XIV of Fig. 133 shows. themannerI in which I prefer to` forni the end of the socket meinberf, 40.Instead otI cutting the longitudinal slot,.4l,. clear through the` wallof the socket, 40, I prefer to expand they metal outward or otherwiseform it so that the slot, All, will be covered and' its walls connectedand reiniorced by a bridge piece, 5l, which greatly strengthens thesocket member and enables it to withstand the stresses which arev putupon it when in use.

The operation of my invention is as iollows Assuming that ist is.desired to: lift the alle 52, oi? the automobile shown in Fig; 7, thepedestal members, l and 6,I are adjusted" so that with. the liftingscrew, l0, preferably protruding a little arbo-Ve the top. el? thepedestal iead, 9'; the total height of the jacll; is slightly less thanthe l'ieiglit oi the space available in which toset the jack; "Eh-isheight can readily be judged by the eye of the operator. The set screw,291, is now preferably tightened to prevent change in the adjustment ofthe height of the jack while it is bei-ng positioned. 'Ihe socket olf'the cranking'bra-ce iis. next applied to the shaft, 2G, the crankingbra-ce is un iolded and its joints are locked byv slipping the sleeves',50, into the positions inl which they are shown in 7' and the jfackl isshoved into position under the axle, 52', by means of' the extendedVpositioning and operating brace. IVI-ien thus in position. the jack maybe raised by rotating the crank member, 3l, until the axle, 52, isvlifted to the desired height. Iin this operation of the pin, 38. engagedby one end of slot, in the socket, 40, and causes the shaft, 20, toArotate with the brace crank, 31.

.'llo lower the jack the brace crank, 3l, ils rotated in'- the oppositedirection. Vhen the head, 2l, has been lowered suiiic-iently to berelieved of the weight which it has lifted and to clear the axle, 52,the jack may be pulled out from under the machine. The positioning andoperating brace may now be removed: freni the shatt,.2g andioldedeisnzto the position shown in Fig.. 8 by sliding the sleeves, 50,.ont of' contact' with projections, e9. It it is desired to make the jackas corn.- pact as possible tor placing it ai tool' box,

pedestal ot the jack may then be adljusted to its shortest height andthe set screw, 29.?, tightened. The-screw, l0', may also be lowered toits. lowestv position. by turning the shatt, 201

It will be seenv that my invention provides a jfack' which is strongand. rigidi tln'oughont its full range oil? use but which may becoinpacted into a Very small: space when not in use.. My invention issimple and. inexpensite to man aretere and possesses many' adLvanta-gemis. leatureswhich. are distinct impri-ovements over otherYforms of lifting jacks with whifeh I am familiar.. F or standard?autoinobizlc work I haveniade jacks. embodying my' intention capable ofbeing usedthroughout a rz we of height from. 8%, tol 18'. It is obviousthat various other` ranges. ofi t anreadily-be inadewithin thepra@ f soil' construction. .all be apparent to those skilled?v in the art tliat'mod* inw-'ention without departing from the scope thereof. Y

li claim:

l. In al lifting ack, a: pedestal member, a jack-screw mounted to bemoved' up: and down on said pedestal, said pedestal an enlarged hollowhead2 at one end, a greasereceptacle at its opposite end ot' greaterdiameter than said jack-screw, and a bore'con necting; saidgrease-receptacle and the hollow' portion oft' said pedestal of adiameter to providea= tree sliding lit for the ja'clesorew, said? borehaving a Verticali internal guideway extending its full length, and saidgrease-receptacle having vertical ribs the space betweenwhich forms aconti'nuzltion` of fic Vertical internal gu-ideway in the here, aprojection on the lower end of said jaek.- 'crew adaptedE toA travel upand do-wn in` the guidewafy and' between the ribs to prevent the turningoi'A the jack-screw, and means mounted in the hollow head for operatingthe jack-screw.

2'. A lifting jack Vembodying a tubular base member and atubnlfarextension longitudinally adjustable with respect thereto, said tabularextension being formed with an enlarged hollow headY its upper end andhaving its lower portion interiorly enlarged and provided with "a closedbottom to'i'ornr agrease-i'ece-ptacle, operating mecl'ianism including aworin-gear 'located in said enlarged hollow head, and a jack-screwmount'` ed in said woinrgea-r and movable. up and down in saidgrease-receptacle.

A lifting jack embodying a tubular base member andv a tubular extensionlongitudina'lly adju-stable with respect thereto,

'icationsa may be made infiny saicl tubular extension being formed withan enlarged hollo7 head at its upper end and having its lower portioninteriorly enlarged and provided with a closed bottom to form agrease-receptacle, operating mechanism 1nclucling a Worm-gear located insaid enlarged hollow head, a jack-screw mounted in said Worm-gear andmovable up and down in said grease-receptacle, and a looking meansprojecting exteriorly from said base 10 for looking the tubularextension in any adjusted positions relative thereto.

In `testimony whereof I affix my signature,

ROLLIN D. FILDES.

